Contemplating Trust
by Cuz I'm Nice Like That
Summary: Can Willie trust Daniel after everything she has been through? I know, it is over done but I am bored so just read and review lolol


I'm bored and I have a computer. This is what happens. Enjoy! =D 2 Parts. Here is the first one.

-**NWJ**

_Part 1_

Contemplation. As the rush of breath left his body, following the apex of their bodies' connection that resulted after a mere morning pick-me-up. Lying there, he felt the mattress shift beneath him as she rolled from his grasp to the other side of her bed, reveling in her meridian.

For a second. A split second...of contemplation, that is...He was filled with a glimmering hope...spontaneous buoyancy that he decided to test.

So he laid there, the mattress still as neither of them moved and the room grew still, the only movement being the rising and falling of heaving chests. But soon that was ruined when her neck craned in his direction, hair mussed and body covered only in sheets that barely succeeded in covering her most precious assets.

A crook appeared in her eyebrow as it rose like a hot air balloon, begging the silent question of his presence. "Well..."

He shrugged, smirking a bit as he turned to face her, propping his oddly proportioned head on the point of his elbow. "What?"

She squinted, her head shaking lightly with the incredulously of the moment. She thought that they had a system. They had a plan. And it worked...For her that is. "Why are you still here?"

The simper form of his lips descended into a frown that he attempted to conceal as he turned his back to her, throwing his legs over the couch. Standing up, he took once last shot to look at her and she was gone already, standing in the residence of her closet, turning to the red section with the press of a button.

With one last shot of faith, finding his chucked boxers, slipping them on his feet led him to where she stood, unaware of his busy mind, conjuring up a plan. He allowed his arms to take a leisure stroll around the circumference of her waist, his neck finding the jointing of her neck and shoulders as his fingers drew small circles on the small bit of exposure that was her stomach.

Her body solidified in its spot, starching any movement as her eyes crept back behind her, glaring at him dangerously. "Excuse you..."

He smirked, kissing her neck only to have her shrug him off, no longer in the mood. "Oh so what...I can fuck you until the cows come home but I can't touch you?"

"Keep using corny Western sentiments like that and you won't be doing that either." She was paying him no mind, only getting irritated when his actions caused her distraction. Shifting to the tan section of her closet, she lifted a sandy blouse from the middle, spinning it around to check for the tag.

"No matter how many times you spin that thing it is still going to be ugly."

She cut her eyes in his direction, growling lowly as he pulled his pants over his legs, laughing into the air. "Aren't you supposed to be in a cab right now, crawling back to your mother or that bachelor pad apartment filled with old pizza boxes, Michelob Beer and some knock-off La Pearlas?"

"Can I get dressed please? Geesh, do you want me to leave a tip on the table while I'm at it?" He spat sarcastically, getting annoyed with her hurried antics, as if what they had just done...multiple times...Had no value...Had no meaning...And was just another day where Wilhelmina Slater got laid in the wee hours of the morning.

She scoffed, looking back briefly before rolling her eyes, picking up a fitting pencil skirt as well. "Pshhh...You wouldn't be able to afford me anyway..."

He smiled at her humor. He loved a woman that could take a joke. He smiled at her form. He loved a woman that was not afraid of an hourglass figure. He smiled at her smile. He loved a woman that could bare a preview of her heart with the parting of her lips. He frowned at their relationship. He hated the lack of commitment. He hated leaving her home in the morning and going to work with her as if he hadn't been in her bed 5 hours previous. He hated pretending. He hated acting. He hated the falsity of their lives. He hated the day and night comparison. His life shouldn't be like a two toned coin.

That second. That split second...of contemplation, that is...When he was filled with a glimmering hope...a spontaneous buoyancy that he decided to test...was now gone. That split second had cost him a day that he had no chance of getting back. He would spend it glancing into her office. He would spend it thinking about her, fantasizing about her. That second would cost him a day...And life...Had no refunds.

**OoO**

"Willie!" She looked up between glances at the proofs given to her by a fashion editor. She studied them meticulously, scanning the photos for a flaw or something to disappoint her and she was not disappointed...to be disappointed.

"Okay, look..." She pressed the photos to the table after being in the hands of her employee. "If you're going to Photoshop Amy Winehouse, the least you could do is have it done correctly." She led the eyes of the Editor with her black nail over to the hip of Miss Winehouse. "Since when does Amy Winehouse have hips like Adele?" She exclaimed, cramming the photos into their arms. "And the color scheme is horrible! Just because she's dead doesn't mean my shoot has to be!" Her finger pointed in his direction, eyes narrowing directly. "You have 45 minutes to fix that mess, put her hips back at a size 30, change the color scheme and re-pitch me one hell of a concept and if you don't...Do not expect to walk back in here tomorrow morning."

The young man frowned, holding the crumped photos close to his chest. "You-you're going to fire me?"

Wilhelmina smiled her head titling a bit as she spoke. "No...If you don't finish I'll twist your legs like an old woman crotches thread so that you can't walk ANYWHERE let alone to work!"

She stormed off in a furious cloud, Marc catching up with her after calling out her name and watching the damning altercation that nearly made him wet his own pants despite the anger not being directed in his direction in the least. "What Marc?" She barked, entering her office as he closed the door behind him, the curtains already pulled due to her absence. "And it better not be bad news or else you'll be crawling to work along with Andre..." She flipped her hair back, taking a seat at her domain, her space, the epitome of her mind space...

Marc looked around, waiting for someone to yell _Cut! _Or signal some type of way to let him know that she was just acting. Wilhelmina Slater was evil bit sometimes, even Marc St. James had to take a step back and say, DAMN!

"Why are you so...Rosie O'Donnell this morning?" He slipped into a parallel chair, his elbows holding up his pointed chin as he awaited an answer.

She sighed, leaning back before letting her hands wash over her face, failing to trail any red lipstick back. There was no doubt in her mind that she looked fierce with her sandy blouse, ruffled from neck to waist where a belt intercepted and linked up with a snake printed pencil skirt, form-fitting and curve complimenting. She knew that she was hot...But someone had ticked her off.

"Marc, I'm not stupid."

"Of course not...You're diva-brilliance."

"I'm perceptive..."

"Of course...When McQueen jumped you totally called it..."

"I'm not crazy for sleeping with Daniel Meade?"

His laugh buckled through the room, led by a proceeding snort. "You're kidding right?" He looked up at her stony expression and recanted, clearing his throat as if to pass off his eruptive cackles as a meager tickle of the throat. "I mean...Willie c'mon...I had an asthma attack when you told me...Betty choked on her taco salad and why do you think Mama Meade is still in the dark."

"Marc I want it to be casual..."

"Hit it and quit it?"

"And he acts like he wants to put a damn ring on it!" She expelled a breath, holding her head with the pad of her thumb and tip of her index as she attempted to make sense of their predicament...how it started. How they got there...and how they could get out.

"Well what do you want?"

"I told you!" Her arms flailed up, eyes bulging a bit. "Just give it to me and go dammit!"

Marc grimaced, only hearing his own mother's voice when she said something like that. He was like an adolescent, hearing his mother discuss _intimacy. _His face blushed red and his eyes blinked, attempting to erase her recording from his head.

"I mean who knew that Daniel Meade got so damn attached!...You know last night...he tried to...to..."

"What Willie?"

"...Cuddle!" She said quickly as if it was a forbidden word to be in her vocabulary let alone leave the confounds of her mouth.

"Awww..." He cooed, smiling softly.

"It was horrible!"

He frowned, looking at his boss. "Willie...I know it's Daniel Meade...blech...yuck...eww all of that stuff but...A man...who could have left, get what he came for and bolted...stayed...And wanted to hold you..."

"Marc...Do you know who I am? The only things I cuddle with are furs and diamonds...The last thing that I held was an infant name Nico and since then I haven't even held my own umbrella let alone...let a man hold me."

"Why?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why does it make you so uncomfortable to make sex something more than sex?"

"IT does not make me uncomfortable..."

"Willie-"

"Excuse me..." She looked up to see Daniel knocking on her open door, standing in the doorway.

"Yes?" She questioned coldly.

"Tonight we need to meet somewhere about this new concept...We need to brainstorm possible photographers, center spread and do something about this dip in Hudson and Player readers."

"It's okay Daniel, no need to codename...You can just say midnight shag, I know..." Marc grinned and Wilhelmina's head snapped around, shutting him down immediately. "Or...You can ignore me and carry out your conversation."

**OoO**

She sat on his couch, surprised by the tidiness and upkeep of the place, watching as he entered the massive room with a tray of food that she did not plan on taking part in. She brought her glass of wine to her lips, finishing off the glass and about to top herself off.

"Are you okay?" He asked, taking a seat on the floor, on the other side of the coffee table where the tray lay as she sat on the couch

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know I just...noticed that you're drinking a little bit more than you usually do..." He suggested, opening a container, taking out a plate for her.

"Oh no...I'm fine thank you..." She declined, shaking her head lightly.

"C'mon Wills, you have to eat something..."

"Did you just call me Wills?"

"Well your name is so damn long, what do you expect?"

She smiled, chuckling a little bit at his light humor, something that always seemed to bring a smile to her face despite her mood.

"And don't change the subject...I hope you don't expect me to sit by and watch you drink yourself into a stupor without eating something...I don't want you to get sick." She shrugged him off, trying not to get uncomfortable as he displayed an affection for her without having to touch her, whisper words of seduction in her ear or stare gloomily in her direction. "Marc told me that despite you leading the world to believe that you eat nothing but air and caviar...You do enjoy a little sushi every now and then...Specifically..." He took two chopsticks and plopped two pieces on her small square plate. "The Spicy shrimp roll."

"That was a secret..."

HE looked up and smiled, taking some for himself. "I'll keep it..."

She got up from the couch and sat on the floor, parallel to him. "Thank you..."

"Do you want a blanket or something?"

"Why?"

"Well I know how you are...You think my apartment is a dump and I wouldn't think that you would want to just sit on the carpet..."

"Your apartment isn't that bad..."

"That's not what you said this morning."

"This morning you were pissing me off..." She chuckled a bit and he smirked, watching as she took a swab of ginger and scooped up a green, paste-looking substance.

"So when someone pisses you off, you insult their home?"

"No...I blackmail them...But you were very generous that night so I let you slide..."

He laughed and lifted a piece of his sushi to her, still holding the ginger swab. She raised a brow and he grinned, seeing her swipe the paste to his food. "What is this called again?"

"Wasabi."

She picked one up and brought it to her mouth, watching as Daniel just threw it all in his mouth and she tried her best to sustain her laughter as his face turned a beat red, eyes watering and nose running. She got up from her cackles and walked out of the room, leaving him a tearing, sniffling mess before returning with a glass of water that he quickly downed, gasping for air at the end. "How'd you find my kitchen?"

She stood before him, and he noticed that she was actually barefoot, not wearing the usual circus height footwear of her choice. "Are you daft?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"How could I? I could barely breathe before you had stuffed the thing in your mouth like you're a dump truck..."

She took a bite of the seafood pleasure, dabbing her mouth with a napkin afterwards and he watched in shock. "Isn't it hot?"

She shook her head. "Nope..."

He rolled his eyes playfully, allowing her to laugh a bit more. "Show off!"

"Well if we book Iman for the center spread it would be nice to half a tie back to her Somalia roots with an article about model recruitment and what is really going on down there..." Daniel suggested, now sitting on the couch with her, knees bent, her legs extended beneath his body.

"And Up the focus on the Iman cosmetics ad..." She set the file down, taking a breath.

"More wine?"

"No thank you...That might be the cause of this headache..." She massaged her temples softly, wishing it away.

"If you want, we can do this tomorrow and I can call you a town car..."

"There are no town cars tonight...The Sanderson Gala has them all booked..."

"Weren't we invited to that?"

"I hid the invitation...Helen Sanderson is a tacky wench who is trying to be 70 going on 17 and Douglass Sanderson is an old Daddy Warbucks type perv..."

"Harsh words..."

"Well I am not really in the mood..."

"Well...What are you in the mood for? He looked at her suggestively, allowing a silence to sit between them before she stood to her knees, still on the couch, nearing him slowly. Her body inched towards him, lowering itself until his hands grabbed hold to her waist, pulling her down to his level, her lips to his, her chest to his, their bodies resting atop of each other, Soon, she found herself to be straddling him as his hands gripped her hips in an attempt to keep himself sustained as she bit down on his bottom lip, storming his lips with an aggression that he was yet to see as her hands pulled at his short brown locks.

Finding the light, he lifted his head to see his motions as he took at her blouse, ripping each side apart from each other without hesitation, exposing her strapless black bustier that cinched her waist and pushed up at her chest. Feeling her claw at his tie and shirt, he sat up with his arms linking back around her waist as if to make them equals.

Leaving his mark, up and down her neck...his movements became slower...and slower as he contemplated.

What was he getting out of this? Besides a good time...What was the payoff...Where was the future?

Before he knew it, he had stopped and all they did was pant, waiting for someone to make the next move. And when no one did...They knew that it was not the day.

Gathering herself, she removed her body from being on top of him, and worked on the buttons on her blouse as she left the room...Almost...

"Wilhelmina where is this going?" He wanted to know. Hair mussed. Tie sideways. Mouth eschewed. Shirt torn. He wanted to know. He had a right to know.

"Nowhere! This is casual...Casual sex. Daniel!" She didn't want a commitment...They made her unstable..They made her nervous.

"Then we can't do this anymore..." He shook his head, getting up from the couch...His footsteps led him to where she stood and she watched him, fearing what was next to escape his mouth. "...Because if this continues, I might slip up and fall in love with you...Or you with me..."

She was stuck in her tracks. She couldn't move. It was as if he had given her an ultimatum without giving her an ultimatum. She had to reevaluate her feelings on the spot. The who, what, when, where and why of what she was feeling.

"Too late..." She whispered, standing before him, barefoot and shirt open to expose her black bodice.

"What did you just say?" His heart beat sped. His palms sweat and his eyes watched her in anticipation.

Her stare dropped to the floor before she garnered the courage to look him in the eyes once more. "I said..." She began shakily... "That I'm beginning to fall in love with you..." He smiled and neared her but was pushed back when her hand extended, pushing back on his chest. "But I don't know if I like that..."

"What do you mean?"

"Daniel it's like...robbing a bank...the first go round, you get caught and it is not successful...the second time you still get caught but at least you make it to the getaway car...You keep trying and trying but how long is it going to take for you to get that it is not going to work."

"Me and you?"

"Me and...Anybody."

"Willie, don't do this to yourself..."

"Daniel it's true, what am I expected to do?" He took her by the forearms, looking into the crystals she called eyes, attempting for a moment to see passed her beauty and to her heart...her feelings...her soul.

"You're expected to look at me and see a different man...You're supposed to look at me and over the last 10 months and realize that it was incredibly stupid to think that you could share a bed with me, sleep with me, talk to me any kind of way...and I not fall in love with you...Because that would be damn near impossible."

"Well what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if you trust me...To take you just a step farther...To take _us_ just a step farther...for a test drive...a plan to rob the bank..." He smiled weakly, trying to get her to look at him as her eyes wavered. "We could make this work..."

"Daniel I'm not looking for a relationship..."

"Well who is? It's not like a supermarket where you can pick and choose your perfect match. It just happens..."

"Daniel..." She did not want to let go. She did not want to let go of the reigns. She wanted to drive the car, steer the boat and own her life...She couldn't put her faith in someone else because every time she did...It seemed like she always fell flat on her face...

"Willie..." He lifted her chin gently, allowing her to invade his personal space as their bodies touched and his arm served as a belt to hold her to him. "We can make this work...I know we can...But you have to trust me..."

She shook her head. She was unaware of the welling up of her eyes. She was unaware of the pull that held her back. She had seen so many things in her life that made her doubt the validity of this conquest...She had to ask herself if it was right...

Even that morning, when he left, her house felt empty...abandoned...As if he was meant to be there..."

Holding her at the waist, he spoke gently, trying to get her to understand. "When you lost William, Willie who was there?" She turned away and he brought her back, desperately needing het to see his side. "When Nico hurt you...Who was there, Willie? When you were in the hospital for FOREVER because you wouldn't rest, who visited you every...single..day? Wilhelmina we have been more than fun buddies for a while now...I have been there you for a while now...You have trusted me and not even realized it...I need you to realize it...today...tonight, Willie...I need you to trust me."

She didn't respond. Her face didn't move. She barely let in air as she was faced with two doors to walk into. Which door would she choose? That morning when she awoke, her focus was Mode and home, never allowing the thought to cross her mind until after he left. She didn't want to get hurt again. She didn't want to put her heart out there again. She didn't want...to be made a fool of. She could either play it safe and decline him, choosing to stay with her self and depend on the person that had always been there for her; herself. Or...She could take a leap of faith...Take the burden off...And trust him. Which door would she choose?

"Honey, I know it's late but Betty told me how mopey you were at work this morning...She was worried about you so I just thought I'd stop..." Her words tumbled back down the hill with Jack and Jill as she was faced with a horrifying image. A terrifying image."...by..." The bags of groceries in her hands fell to the ground, her eyes wanting to roll out and flop around with them.

"I-I didn't know that you had company..." The last time that she had walked in on him was when he actually walked in on her and nearly frisked her when she had snuck into his apartment for a place to stay. It terrorized her to see him with another woman, just being another thing to show him that he had grown up.

Bending down to pick up the groceries, she stared at the back of the woman, looking at her hair...her skin...her outfit...Something was familiar...something was not right...something...was about to go down.

"Wilhelmina?"

"Well that's my cue..." Wilhelmina walked over to the couch, no longer caring if Claire knew that it was her. She just had to get the hell out of that house.

"Willie wait..."

"What the hell..." Claire mumbled in disbelief, seeing Wilhelmina's open blouse, Daniel's disheveled clothes and the close manner in which he had held her mere second ago. "What the hell..." She spoke again, staring ahead.

Wilhelmina grabbed her coat, closing it over her exposed corset as she escaped the home, leaving Daniel yearning for an answer and Claire yearning for someone to pinch her because she had to be dreaming.

He glanced back at his mother, who was now pouring herself a glass of Chardonnay from the coffee table, about to drown her sorrows. "Mom, I can explain."

"...Well you definitely need to." She whispered, trying to stay calm as she brought the cold liquid to her mouth, relaxing herself.

"I will, I just...I need to catch her..."

"Daniel I can't even look at you right now..."

"Then don't!" He was not there to be ridiculed. He was not trying to be lectured. He was trying to build a future. As he raced down the stairs. He was running for his future. As he slid out into the rain, he was sopping wet for his future. He scanned the sidewalk for her face, her coat, her shoes, anything to signal her presence. As the rain poured, as the drops made patterns on the glass, as he stormed the concrete, looking for her, he saw her.

She had ran, in an attempt to escape. Wilhelmina Slater does not get wet. Wilhelmina Slater does not like kicking Claire Meade's ass after 7. She was in a hurry, she was in a hurry, she was rushing, she wasn't paying attention, she fell. It was perfect.

He saw her, blinking through the rain as he ran to her side yet she turned her head, still gripping at his jacket as she got up, looking to him for balance.

His hand on her waist. Her hand on his shoulder. His eyes...on her eyes. If he moved his hand, she would fall. If he moved away, she would fall. If he left her, she would fall. With his free hand, his pushed back the sticking hair from her face as they stood there, oblivious to the weather. HE smirked, holding her tight against him. "Do you trust me?"

She touched his cheek, gaining inches from the sky as she reached his lips, stroking the apple of his face before running her hands around his neck.

"Is that a yes?" He questioned.

She looked back, seeing a gray Hummer pull up with a stunned gay assistant in the front seat, wielding an umbrella.

"That's my ride..."

"Wilhelmina..."

She lifted her mouth to his once again and he put his finger to her lips, pushing her back down. "Don't kiss me...Answer me..."

She didn't have a right there answer. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to respond. And as he stood there, soaked from head to toe...that was not good enough.

"Wilhelmina..."

She was silent.

"Wilhelmina..."

She was dumb-struck.

"Wilhelmina...If you didn't trust me than you wouldn't be letting me hold you in the rain...without the fear of falling..."

She was silent.

He lifted her bridal style, taking her to Marc's car as she was still in awe, unable to speak. She didn't know what to say. She just didn't know...

He put her in the passenger's seat, allowing her to leave him with a thought. "I think you trust me...You just don't know it yet..."

_Review even if it is just you favorite line =D_


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